New tool could boost your credit score — but there’s a catch

Experian is launching a free new tool in an effort to help some consumers increase their credit scores. The online platform — Experian Boost — will become available in early 2019. It effectively allows you to add payments for utility and telecommunications bills to your Experian credit file and thus potentially raise your credit score.

Consumers planning to use the new tool must first “grant permission for Experian Boost to connect to their online bank accounts to identify and access utility and telecommunications payments,” Experian says. This raises privacy and security concerns.